Rovers rally to generate American Legion Baseball sweep over Malone

RAYMONDVILLE - The Norfolk Post 925 Rovers geared up to host a weekend tournament by gaining a sweep over Malone Post 219 in an American Legion Baseball twinbill at Memorial Field on Tuesday.

The Rovers jumped out to a quick lead in the opener before settling for a 6-1 six-inning win. The nightcap, which went the full seven innings, saw them stage an overwhelming comeback as they reversed a 3-2 deficit with a six-run rally.

It wound up being a pretty nice day for us, noted coach Terry Paige after the Rovers raised their record to 5-7.

In the opening game, Cody Smith pitched the complete game victory, striking out 10 and walking four while limiting Post 219 to just two hits. Brandon Welch (9K, 6BB, 6H) went the distance in taking the loss.

Jordan LaShomb anchored the Norfolk offense going 2-4 with a two-run double which keyed a decisive three-run rally in the bottom of the second inning and two runs scored. Brandon Noble singled and came around to score a pair of runs. Patrick Manning and Connor Paquin each stroked an RBI-single. Smith had the other Rovers hit while Jake Mayette and David Phillips came around to score the other runs.

Malone was limited to a fourth-inning single by Blake Lewis before Welch launched a double off the bottom of the fence in left-centerfield to lead off the sixth. He moved to second on a groundout then scored on a throwing error to secondbase during a Malone steal attempt.

After allowing three runs over the first three innings, southpaw Ben Miller settled down to earn the complete-game win in the nightcap, finishing with six strikeouts and just one walk while scattering four hits.

Jacob St. Mary (4K, 4BB, 5H) lasted four and two-thirds innings in taking the loss. Zach Burnett came on to game the final out of the fifth inning before Jarod Moody worked a scoreless sixth in relief.

Post 219 took a 1-0 lead in the second then went ahead 3-0 when Welch deposited the ball well over the fence for a two-run homerun in the third. The Rovers countered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third then took control of the game in the fifth where a two-run single by LaShomb sparked a six-run outburst. Miller had an RBI-double in the decisive surge while Tyler Haas and Brandon Noble each drilled RBI-singles.

Also contributing toward the winning offense were Mayette with two runs scored, Connor Prosper with a single and run scored, Kyler MacIntire with a run scored and RBI and Smith with an RBI. Miller, Haas and Noble also came around to score solo runs.

Jordan Yando got Malone on the board first with an RBI-single in the second inning. Alex Johnson singled and scored a run while Lewis had the other run scored in the losing effort.

The Rovers will now get set to host a weekend tournament starting on Friday when they take on the Clinton County Junior Mariners at 6 p.m. Other teams slated to be on hand include the Ogdensburg Maples, Malone Post 219, Watertown, Peru and the Ottawa Knights.

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